Of Potions and Professors
by dazedkitten
Summary: A poor tale that needs badly to be rewritten. Thought I'd put it up, so you can all help me, and to see if it's really worth writing. Epilogue Uploaded and Complete (SSHG- sort of)
1. Day 1

A/N: A semi-short story that needs a lot of work- that I haven't the effort to put in. This goes far too quickly- but by the time I realised that it had taken place over _three days_ I was already quite a way in. I apologise for the distressing pace at which this rushes along. 

Oh, and Unmentionables are quite separate from Unspeakables, who have a much different role. Ah, let me have my creative licence. 

Of Potions and Professors Day One 

Severus stalked into the classroom, thoroughly wishing he were somewhere else. Or someone else, he thought morbidly. It had been eleven years, and nothing had changed. Glaring around the dungeon classroom, Severus realised that the only difference between these students and the ones he had been teaching eleven years previously was that his house no longer contained any death eaters. That pathetic Potter prat had been useful for something, after all. 

Barking instructions at his seventh-years, they all scurried around him, grabbing ingredients. One girl looked at him sultrily from under her dangerously long darkened lashes. He scowled at her. There was just something about the girl that didn't sit right with him. He turned his eyes to another student, but still felt her eyes prickling the back of his neck. 

Stupid brat- her name was Alicia Bennet: pretty, blonde, Ravenclaw. She managed to get every single teacher wrapped around her little finger, even the stern Minerva McGonnagal. She was every teacher's dream; hard working, successful and didn't interrupt. But there was still something about her…

Severus snapped at a few students before the pressure on the back of his neck grew too much. Turning to stand directly behind the girl, he watched as she expertly siphoned off the very top of the potion- all that was used. She knew he was there, but she didn't falter. She held up her clear glass bottle to the light. 

"There's precipitate. Ten points from Ravenclaw." The girl turned slowly to look at him. 

"There's no precipitate." Her words were cold and clearly spoken- Severus glared at the girl. 

"I have been Potion's Master for twice as long as you've been alive. If I say there's precipitate, there is. Twenty points from Ravenclaw for insubordination to the teacher." He swirled around, stalking back to the front of the room. 

Halfway there, however, he was stopped by her clear voice. "You're wrong."

Pivoting quickly, he stalked back to stand threateningly in front of the girl. She merely looked up into his face. 

Hissing into the girl's face (damn her good looks), "I am the Teacher here, Miss Bennett," somehow, he managed to make her name sound like an insult, "and I do not like being told I'm wrong. You will have detention for a month, and one hundred house points will be deducted from your house. 

"Class is dismissed." The seventh-years rushed out of the classroom as quickly as Gryffindor first-years from their first lesson. Severus sighed as he watched the class file out, wondering what he had ever done to deserve this fate. 

~*~

Alicia smirked as she sat down at dinner that night. It was only a momentary lapse, and she very carefully composed her face afterwards. She barely tasted her food, glancing up at the teacher's table throughout the meal. 

She noted with quiet delight that Snape sat in the seat that she expected him to. She saw his slight inquisitive expression at the strange taste of his pumpkin juice, and saw his shrug. Her facial control slipped a little again as she grinned slightly; she wondered if he would ever have done that whilst Voldemort was alive. Probably not. 

Returning her eyes to her dinner, she joined in a pathetic conversation on some worthless topic with her classmates. She must keep up some semblance of normality- she was just a school child, after all. 

~*~

Severus was looking forward to the evening. It was quite a malicious wish, but he couldn't wait to see the pathetic girl on her hands and knees scrubbing huge cauldrons, or the floor, or the tables… he grinned in anticipation. There weren't many things he enjoyed nowadays, but tormenting self-righteous pupils remained. Some things take a very long time to change. 

His walk to the dungeons was quick, although that may have been a perception of his mind, having travelled this path so many times before. He sat down at his desk and began to correct papers from his second year class. His quill moved quickly, dashing the hopes of Gryffindors and building up Slytherins, although not as much as before. The need for him to favour his Slytherins was gone, but he still enjoyed pampering them. Maybe it was spite. 

The appealing girl appeared at the door at precisely eight o'clock, and Severus immediately realised something was wrong. She smelled like lemongrass and dragon's blood, and an assortment of other, uncountable smells. It was a potion, of that he was sure. But what? His mind ran though all combinations he could recall, but none were applicable to the setting. 

He discounted it, however. He glared at the girl and told her to start scrubbing his dirty cauldrons. She smiled sweetly and walked past his desk to the stack of used cauldrons. As she passed, she brushed against him slightly, and he was astounded at the complexity of the potion. 

He felt the surge of testosterone, and recognised the potion. 

It was ingenious, he acknowledged that. It was a two-part potion, and he had stupidly drunk the other part of it during dinner. She must have coated the inside of his cup with it. That part was simple, two or three ingredients, a couple of minutes. By itself, it was harmless. Hence why he had drunk it. 

But the second part was incredibly complex, and required a very long time of preparation and brewing. She had completed it to perfection. She was, even though he hated to admit it, a very good potions brewer. 

He then questioned the reasoning for it. The answer came with sickening surety. To get him out of Hogwarts. How perfect; back out into the world where the residual Death Eaters could find him and kill him for turning sides during the war. He cringed as the girl stood behind his chair and stroked his hair. What could he do? She would obviously run to Dumbledore as soon as this was over and cry rape. That would get him kicked out, even by the gracious old man who had saved his life all those years ago. He would be so hurt that he had abused his position…

Severus' thoughts drifted into oblivion, and he was only barely aware of what was happening. If he were a weaker man, he would have had no recollection whatsoever. 

Severus desperately wished that he were weaker. 

~*~

Albus Dumbledore stood in the strange room that constituted his office. The girl was weeping in the chair. He could feel the waves of anguish coming from the girl. 

He was shaking with anger, with betrayal. To think that after all these years, Severus would abuse his power like this… 

A strange noise roused Albus from his thoughts. It was Fawkes. He was sitting above the girl with a murderous expression. To be expected- Fawkes loved Severus. But- there was something more. Dumbledore reconsidered his intentions of dismissing Severus on sight, and considered another option. 

Dumbledore wondered, after he sent the girl to another room to rest, why he had been so ready to dismiss the only man in the world that he considered his son without so much as the benefit of the doubt. Flashing a look of extreme thankfulness at Fawkes, Dumbledore sat down to compose a very carefully worded letter. 

It was some time later before he was happy with it, and he gave it to Fawkes to deliver. He wouldn't trust the owls with this letter. 

The night sky was the only creature to see the name scrawled across the envelope. 

_Hermione Granger.___


	2. Day 2

A/N: Day Two, believe it or not. I really didn't think about the timeline of this very well. Pick all the holes in it you can.

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!

Annabelle Elizabeth: Yes… 

S.D.: oh, I don't mind the idea- I just think it's all too rushed. But then, the author is always a little over-critical.

Mandi: glad you're reading it! And yes, if you read it too fast, you'll get confused. It's a bit like that. 

Angel Fire: thanks! I will!

Risi: thanks!

PRIMAX: thanks- here's your next chapter! (day…)

Jasperpress77: indeed she did. She's a conniving little girlie, that's for sure. 

Of Potions and Professors Day Two 

The Unmentionable Department's offices were overcrowded. Hermione grunted and pushed the pile of papers from her desk onto the floor. She was resigning; this was it. No more sorting through people's memories, no more stealing thoughts that weren't hers. No more unwelcome anguish. She couldn't stand it anymore. 

Looking at the now-blank desk, Hermione remembered her first day on the job. During Auror training, she had been singled out to become an Unmentionable. Harry and Ron had urged her to do so, even though they had no idea what it entailed. It drew her apart from them. Now she could read them like books, feel the emotions wafting off them, and the slightest touch triggered their memories to start pouring into her mind. She couldn't stand it. 

They were so happy. That was the problem, of course. They were happy where she was miserable, not that they realised it. They didn't realise that their very presence made her uncomfortable now. She had no words to explain it, but the feeling was there. It was somewhere on the edge of her senses, and Hermione had learned to trust her instincts. It had taken a long time; she recalled the many times that it took her such a long time to reason the answer she had instinctively felt ages beforehand. 

Her first day on the job, she had been required to go and negotiate the truth out of a rape case. The victim's thoughts were so vivid that she could still remember them. The rapist's mind had been a sewer, and she shuddered at the memory of the emotionless sink that had swallowed her attempts to rationalise his actions. She hated her job. 

She was startled to see a flash of red and gold at the window, and even more astounded to see that it was Fawkes, the resident phoenix of Hogwarts. Her astonishment reached even greater heights when she saw the letter held in his beak. 

Retrieving the letter, she immediately felt the distress of the writer- Dumbledore, she realised. Reading the content, she tore her eyes away and tapped her wand against it. It curled up in tongues of flame. 

Grasping her letter of retirement, she allowed Fawkes to land on her shoulder, handed in her resignation to her astonished superior and walked to the grounds of the Ministry of Unmentionables. She grasped Fawkes' luxurious tail after charming herself not to be seen, and allowed the super-strong phoenix to carry her to Hogwarts. 

Hermione must have passed out, because the next thing she knew was being fluttered with orange wings. She sat up and took in her surroundings: she was within the Hogwarts grounds. She got up and, after helping Fawkes to her shoulder, walked to the Headmaster's office. 

The memories flooded into Hermione's mind- her memories, not someone else's. In this corridor, she had her first kiss. In this corridor, her heart was broken for the first time. On this staircase, she had cried for hours…

Albus Dumbledore looked as if he hadn't slept for three weeks. He looked every one of his one hundred and eighty one years. Hermione was astounded to still see him alive. Hermione grasped the hand he extended and immediately pulled it away again as she saw what had occurred over the past few hours. She narrowed her eyes at the man, wondering at his good grace. 

"Don't judge him too soon, Hermione. He's had a hard lot in life, and I have put a lot of trust in him. I was going to dismiss him on sight before I realised that the ingenious girl had used a charm to ensure that I would become enraged. Naturally I was, but after Fawkes saw through the enchantment I realised that I had been acting hastily. That is why I have called you in. 

"I realise that you have resigned from your job, and I do intend to offer you the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, as our previous teacher resigned last week. I would, however, wish to prevail upon you to please sort this out before I take you on. It would take a large weight off my mind and allow me to keep other Aurors and Ministry officials out."

Dumbledore slumped down into a seat, his oration over. Hermione looked at the old man. She didn't wonder how Dumbledore knew all these things- she just nodded at him, signalling her acceptance. 

This would be her last case. 

~*~

Alicia Bennet walked back into Dumbledore's office from the room where she had been sleeping. She was a little confused. She was sure that she had administered the charm correctly- why was she still being questioned? 

She seated herself at Dumbledore's insistence, and was introduced to a woman with fluffy cinnamon hair and tired eyes. Dumbledore insisted that it was just because he wanted her to have a female to talk to, but Alicia was not certain that it was the case at all. 

But, seeing no way to back out of the situation, Alicia began to tell her fabricated tale. She involved a great deal of emotion, hoping to sway the woman. She just smiled sadly, reaching out to take her hands. An expression of intense revulsion flashed briefly across her face, gone as soon as it appeared.  Alicia could find no way to ostracise her hands from the woman's grip, however, so she simply continued with her tirade. 

When she had finished, the woman smiled at her again and assured her that Snape would be brought to justice. Standing up, Alicia smiled weakly. 

But when she noticed the small badge that resided on the shoulder of the woman's robes, it was all she could do to keep her face straight. 

The woman was an Unmentionable. Alicia swore at herself for underestimating her opponents, and made her way straight to her tower. She must write a letter, no matter what the outcome. 

~*~

Hermione's face was grim as she turned to look at Dumbledore when the girl left. 

"You were right. She was playing with us. I'll go and speak with Snape, then look for a little more evidence. I think I managed to find the site where she brewed the potion, and I don't believe she's cleaned up after herself just yet. She won't just now- she will write to whomever she's corresponding with. I'll do that straight away, and then speak to Snape, I think. I should be ready to compose my report in the morning. Will you be the witness?"

Dumbledore nodded, "I will be your witness. Please, I want this over as soon as possible, before the other students find out and worse rumours get out about Severus. He has been horrible to you, I know, but please, be kind to him…"

Hermione nodded in response to his plea, her mind, however, still closed. She made her way down the familiar, dreaded path to the Dungeons. 

She stopped before the classroom, however. She stood in front of a large portrait of a beheaded man. It contained a lot of blood, and Hermione was disgusted by the perfect detail of the severed head. "Mort," was the password, and Hermione nearly laughed as she gleaned the information from the frame. 

Inside, in perfect arrangement, was a potions lab. It held an uncleaned cauldron, and Hermione shrank it down to a size practical for travel. She glared scornfully at this- no _real_ potions master would leave cauldrons unscrubbed. She placed it in a plastic bag and put it in a pocket of her robes. There was another cauldron to shrink, and then Hermione collected the stored potions that were littered around the lab. She identified quite a few, recognising them as restricted potions. Hermione was pretty sure that the girl wouldn't have been able to get recipes for these from the library. 

After her raid, Hermione closed the portrait silently. She walked down to the Potions classroom with dread building in her heart. 

It wasn't that she disliked the room, or even the class, but that she was terrified of the man who resided in there. He was the only teacher who had never valued her input in class, and the only man in her life to make her feel nervous. Even Draco Malfoy had never made her feel intimidated, only angry. 

She knocked on the heavy oaken door but didn't wait for permission to enter. She stepped into the classroom, noted the man sitting at the desk with his head in his hands, and sat down at her normal workbench. She noted wryly that her hips seemed to have grown since her last time here, her seventh year. 

Snape looked worn too, she realised. His hair was beginning to grey, and his hands were growing rickety, the fingers stretching against thinning skin. Hermione could see he was scared, could almost smell it in the room. 

"I suppose you're here to take me to Azkaban." The words were muffled; he didn't lift his head as he spoke. Hermione was startled at the depth of emotion present in her former teacher's words. She could almost feel terror pulsating in his voice. 

"Actually, I'm here to sort out what happened. So far I've ascertained that you're innocent and that the little seductress is in league with someone else. I would like to know your story though. It would be helpful if you cooperated." Snape's head jerked up to look at her. His eyes widened a little when he saw her identity, and he sighed wearily. 

"I feared that Dumbledore wouldn't give me the benefit of the doubt."

"He wasn't going to. Alicia cast a charm on him to enflame his sense of anger, and he wanted to dismiss you on sight. However, Fawkes saw through the enchantment and alerted him to the situation. Dumbledore called me in to investigate." Hermione shrugged her tired shoulders, seeing relief flood into Snape's face. 

"Why did Dumbledore bring an Auror in?" Snape asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

Hermione smiled a secretive smile. "I'm not an Auror. I'm an Unmentionable." 

Snape's expression showed disgust. "I thought you had no aura."

Hermione winced. "Apparently that's useful, because I don't have anything to interfere with the subject's aura. It's good for business."

Snape nodded weakly. "I suppose you expect me to tell you what happened?"

Hermione shrugged. "If you want. I could share the memories if you don't want to relive them," she suggested. 

Snape looked at her suspiciously. 

"I can duplicate the memories from your memory and store them within my own mind. All it takes is the slightest touch - it makes shopping horrible. With some people it hardly even takes that, they project their thoughts so strongly. It's a horrible thing to have to deal with. I feel like a pensieve most days." She shuddered whilst Severus grinned maliciously at her discomfort.

"Must be terrible." Snape's curiosity took over for a moment, "What do you feel from me at the moment?" Hermione grimaced. 

"Fear, anger. It's all in the room. I can feel the echoes of thoughts… but then, you've been teaching frustrated teenagers in this room for a long time. The emotional residue would be strong."

Snape sighed. "My one refuge in life. Tormenting my students." He made a face that Hermione could only begin to interpret, even with her years of training. "Well, if you're going to pilfer my memories, you'll have to come over here."

So Hermione stood up and walked to the drained man in the hard-backed seat. She hesitatingly placed her hand on his, the clammy cool of his skin pulling the heat out of her palm. The memories flooded her mind, and for a second she was swept up in the wave of horror that had been the man's life.

After a moment, she reached the memories of the past few days. She slowed there, walking through the memories instead of rushing so as not to consider anything too much. She watched as the events played themselves out. 

When she had the information she needed, she stepped back, shaking. 

"I knew she was malevolent, but I never guessed that she could be a rapist too… although I guess that's what she is." Snape looked up at her, startled. Hermione realised that he had yet to clear his name in his own mind. She stepped back again, said something in parting, and left. 

She could still feel his memories searing through her mind. 

~*~

Snape could still feel her hand on his. Shivering, he thought of her words- 'I never guessed that she could be a rapist too… although I guess that's what she is…'

He was at no fault? That couldn't be. He had always been in the wrong, always the one perpetrating the evil. He remembered the sensation of Hermione in his thoughts, feeling her mind being flooded with his memories. He wondered if she had taken in his memories, if she could avoid them. 

He irrationally hoped that she could. _He_ was still running from his memories.

Forcing thoughts of the bothersome girl from his mind, he scratched his quill over the paper, sating himself with destroying the hopes and dreams of children. 

~*~

Hermione Granger sat very quietly in the room that had been prepared for her. It was large with high cathedral ceilings that made her feel incredibly small. Sheer curtains covered the large windows in pastel shades and the bed was situated in the very centre of the room. Hermione was seated on the bed, rumpling the covers only slightly, as she dived through her thoughts. To any unseen observers, she would have appeared as one in a trance, and in many respects she was. Her eyes were blank, staring into the far-off distance; her thoughts, however, were filled. She went over every aspect of the situation, feeling all the emotions and thinking all the thoughts. It was quite a while before she was satisfied. 

Hermione quickly stood, her face suddenly filled with dread.

"I forgot the girl!" She exclaimed with disgust at herself. She glanced out the window at the sun, guessing the time. She stood and raced from the room.

~*~

Alicia didn't know what would happen. She rushed into the Owlery, startling many of the owls from their slumber. Feathers floated from the roof, appearing as a mockery of the snow that had stubbornly refused to fall this winter. The blonde girl reached for a very average-looking owl; gripping it firmly, she pulled it off the perch and tied the letter to its foot. She looked at it sternly, and it was apparent from the owl's expression that it understood its task. It fluttered to the opening in the wall and into the falling darkness. 

Suddenly, the door to the Owlery flung open, thunking against the thick stone wall. The woman, her hair flying in all directions and her eyes wild, stood in the doorway. She sighted the girl, narrowed her eyes and advanced on her. Alicia crept back slowly until she was pressed firmly against the cold wall. 

"You had better come with me, girl."

Alicia's panic faltered, and her malicious nature began to emerge. "You'll have to catch me first," and she turned and jumped out the window she had earlier thrown the bird out. 

Hermione gasped, ran to the window, and cast a charm she had learned in first-year- _Wingardium Leviosa_- almost without thinking. A very disgruntled girl was halted in her fall mere inches from the ground. She writhed in the air, trying to break the woman's hold on her. Hermione levitated the girl back up to the Owlery window. Alicia spat a spell at her when she was level with the window. 

Hermione's surprise at being attacked didn't slow her defence, but it did make her drop the girl again, and she was beginning to get tired when she halted the girl's inertia once again. This time, however, she stunned the girl as soon as she was halted. She changed her charm to _mobilicorpus_, which was much less draining for moving a human body than _wingardium leviosa_, and levitated the sultry girl straight to Dumbledore's office. 

~*~

It was late afternoon, but Dumbledore was still thinking over the situation. He rested his head on his hand, his elbow uncomfortably pressed against the table that served as his desk. He tried to think what he could possibly do about the tormented woman that was Hermione Granger. Could he possibly give the girl the Defence Against the Dark Arts position? Was she ready? How would she interact with the other teachers?

He was startled from his contemplation by the woman herself, bursting into the room, a stunned blonde Ravenclaw held in front of her by a charm.  She sullenly thudded the girl onto the ground, leaning her stiff form against the wall. 

"You'd better go and get Snape. I'm ready to make the report right now." She slumped down into a chair, passing a hand over her eyes wearily. 

"Right away, dear." Dumbledore looked worriedly at the young woman sitting in the chair and wondered how she had grown so old over the last eleven years. Her eyes were closed and her fatigue was plainly creased along the ridges of her face. Her hair was beginning to grey, far too soon. Dumbledore worried about the girl. Could he afford to take her in? Could he afford to_ not_ take her in?

Calling for a house elf to bring Snape, Dumbledore set himself about making Hermione feel comfortable. He pottered around the room until everything was perfect. He made Hermione feel better just for his apparent nonchalance about the manipulative girl leaning against the wall in the corner. She even chuckled slightly when Dumbledore raised his feather duster and dusted the top of the pretty blonde girl's head. He decided it was a marked improvement. The girl-turned-woman relaxed a little into her chair, but tensed up instantly again when the door to the Headmaster's office flew open and collided noisily with the inoffensive wall. A vision of darkness stormed in. 

"What is the purpose of calling me away from my work, Albus?" His eyes flickered from Dumbledore to Hermione and finally to the stiff figure leaning uncomfortably against the wall. "Can't it wait?" Severus looked so suddenly terrified that Dumbledore sighed. 

"Hermione, I will agree with Severus. I'll keep the girl here. Go and get some sleep. You look worse than Severus usually does. Everything will be ready for the trial in the morning."

Hermione thought about disagreeing, but nodded, suddenly desperate for sleep. She dragged herself to her feet, relinquished her charm as Dumbledore cast his own, and brushed past the disgruntled Potions Master to go to her rooms. She had had enough for a day.

Severus glared at the woman whom he still thought of as the know-it-all of the Harry Potter Brigade as she brushed past him. He turned to Dumbledore, nodded at him and turned to return to his rooms also. 

Dumbledore sighed as he thought of the two broken people who had just vacated his rooms as he unseeingly studied the blonde girl. Turning, he marched up his stairs and pushed through the fake wall of his office to his private rooms. He noted Fawkes sitting placidly on his perch, and turned to speak to the bird.

"My dear friend. Would you please look after the girl in the other room? I'm afraid I must sleep. Just keep her stupefied. She will be gone by tomorrow afternoon." Fawkes nodded at his friend and lifted himself off his perch and flew through the solid wall to maintain a vigil over the wily girl. 

Dumbledore sat down on the bed to think. 

~*~

Hermione stumbled into her rooms, tossed her clothes onto the ground and slid into the warm bed before falling instantly asleep.  Her dreams, however, were not all that pleasant. She was caught up in the nightmares again. The memories of all her past cases haunted her dreams, but tonight her nightmares were reserved for the members of her latest case. She was thrust into the world of Severus Snape, the trials and tests he had been put through and the discrimination he had received after he returned to the light. She lived through her school days again, hating every moment of it. She lived through the past few days, feeling every wrenching emotion. She shuddered in her sleep, finally breaking the hold of the memories and sliding deep into the dark realms of unconsciousness where no dreams existed. 


	3. Day 3

A/N: Day Three, and the huge finale. Many apologies about my treatment of Harry Potter in this chapter. I'm most unfair. Oh, well. And the conclusion? Well, that's in the next bit...

Thanks again to my beautiful reviewers for sticking with me through this most dreadfully-written piece!

Annabelle Elizabeth: Thanks! It ends a little messily- and I need to write an epilogue. I'll get around to it. 

Mandi: thanks J

Uber grasshopper: thankyou. I agree that the idea's a good one- I'm just not up to my normal standards of writing. I wrote this on paper to begin with, and that might have something to do with the rushed-ness of it. Thanks for your great review anyway!

Angel Fire: thanks, I hope so too. More surprises await in this chapter…

Risi: Well, yes, lots burn out, but wizards are a little stuck in their ways. Harry and Ron make Hermione uncomfortable, so she has drifted away from them. They haven't noticed much because they haven't seen her much. The student is just that- a student. She's just engaged in a few extra-curricular activities. 

Linda: Thanks- it's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, when I read it, I see several inconsistencies- I've tried to fix most, but some are stubborn. Ah well. Thanks!

Of Potions and Professors Day Three 

Morning arrived all too soon for Hermione. She awoke shivering; her eyelids still heavy and her body aching. The sheets that tangled around her were damp, and it took her a moment to realise that she had been sweating. The heavy blanket that had kept her warm during the night was on the floor beside the bed. After taking in her situation, she slumped back to the bed, closing her eyes in frustration. She let out an explosive breath. 

She wearily pushed herself up with her forearms. Flinging her legs over the side of the bed, she shuffled to the ensuite that her room had been provided with. She lunged into the shower, the hot water pummelling her body and burning her numbed flesh. After washing her hair, she pulled the warmed towel around her body and ran quickly back to the main room where there were rugs on the cold stone floor. She dressed herself in her usual black slacks and white shirt before pulling on her heavy grey robes. She wished that she could wear a different colour, but her office demanded that Unmentionables be impartial, so she wore grey. What a disgustingly drab colour, she thought despairingly. And it did nothing for her complexion.

Pulling on her shoes, she walked calmly down the moving staircases, her step never faltering as they shuddered from one position to another. She stepped into the Great Hall for the first time in eleven years, her mind suddenly overwhelmed by the lack of difference. Stalking over to the teacher's table, she wondered exactly how she ever hoped to live here again. There were just so many memories here… She felt all the emotions rushing through the room- the teenage hormones pulsated around the room so thickly she could almost smell them. She shuddered and sat down beside Dumbledore. He smiled benignly at her before turning his head to see the source of the clatter that was occurring in the Hall. 

Hermione was astonished to see Harry Potter in the doorway. She sighed and turned away. She wasn't in the mood for Harry Potter and his well-intentioned melodramatic nature today. Harry Potter eventually pushed his way through the thronging crowds of adoring teenagers to seat himself beside Hermione at the Teacher's Table. She sighed, resigning herself to her fate. 

"Hermione, old chum! How have things been? I haven't seen you for ages! Any man in your life yet?" He dug his elbow into her ribs painfully, and she jerked as far away from him as courtesy would allow. She winced, glanced at the boy-who-lived-to-become-a-really-annoying-man, saw that he was waiting for an answer with baited breath, and sighed again. She shook her head slightly, and stared intently at her food, wondering if he had gained any tact in the last seven years. 

It appeared not, as he continued to whinge and whine like a puppy held still for too long. "Come on, 'Mione, I'm just dying to know…"

She turned and glared at the man, scalding words forming in her mind and bubbling forth onto her tongue. "Harry goddamn Potter, have you no decency? I do not wish to talk about it, and even if I did, I would not do it with the gossip-queen of the Ministry! Now, if you don't mind, I wish to eat my breakfast without the interruption of a loudmouth prat who wants nothing more than the latest gossip to tell your little bed-buddies." And with an indignant sound, she took her frustrations out on her French toast. The silence that descended on the Great Hall was stifling, as Harry Potter sat, open-mouthed, staring at the form of Hermione, who was chewing on her toast and observing her plate, seemingly uncaring of the hurt she caused. 

Hermione's insides roiled with the anger inside her, and she could feel it tearing at the edges of her sight. The red mist died down, and the fuzzy feeling in the back of her mind fled. She turned to see Harry Potter still sitting gape-mouthed, staring at her. Hermione then noticed that Snape had entered silently, and stood behind Harry. 

"Mr. Potter. You look like a flytrap. How about filling that obnoxious mouth with food, instead of making us all look down your throat." Snape moved to seat himself beside Madam Hooch, and Harry's mouth snapped involuntarily shut.

He turned pleading eyes to Hermione, after having followed Snape down the table. "Can I take him to Azkaban now? Pretty please?"

To Harry's surprise, as well as her own, Hermione calmly leaned over and slapped him with all her might. The noise reverberated throughout the room. A large red mark formed on his face.

"Harry, you know that it's innocent until proven guilty, or have you decided to become a law unto yourself?" Hermione then ignored the open-mouthed boy until breakfast was over. 

The silence was deafening, and Harry did what little he could to restore his dignity. He began to eat.

Once breakfast was over, and all the students had left for classes, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape and Harry walked to Dumbledore's office. Harry looked startled at the stiff form of Alicia Bennet still rested against the wall.

"What is this? Why on earth do you have a rape victim stupefied and rested against the wall?" Harry looked around the room at all the faces, seeing disgust on Severus' face- no surprise there; surprise on Dumbledore's face- not nice surprise, but the kind of surprise that you feel when you find that the mud that you just stepped in is actually a lot deeper than you thought, and now there's mud in your socks; Hermione's face showed anger. Harry deduced- with his impeccable Auror insight- that he had said something wrong.

Dumbledore sat in the witness' seat, Hermione stood in the Unmentionable's place, Harry took his place behind the accused seat, and Snape moved to the Witness' stand. Dumbledore levitated the girl to the accused seat and leaned her against it without breaking the charm. Harry still looked dumbfounded.

Hermione reached into a large pocket in her robes, pulling out a small drawstring bag, and removed a black silk-wrapped crystal. She unwrapped it, placed the clear crystal on a table in the middle of the room, and went back to her place.

"_Ratio Decidendi_" Hermione incanted, and the crystal flared. "Hello, Mari, I decided to take on one last case. You will discover some interesting stuff in this one, so guess what- there's going to be heaps of paperwork for you to do. 

"First of all, let me introduce the players in this game." Hermione stated all the apparent details of the case, the names of the people, and then fell silent.

Dumbledore stood for a moment, saying, "I, Albus Dumbledore do witness this case."

Harry then stepped forward, beside the chair he was defending, saying, "I, Harry Potter do stand as the Auror to this case."

Severus stood, saying, "I, Severus Snape am the accused, and plead not guilty."

Hermione turned her eyes to the frozen girl. "This is Alicia Bennet. The reason for her immobility will be revealed in this case, but she is the defendant. She stands accused, also, of the crime for which she was accused Professor Severus Snape.

"And I, Hermione Granger, stand as the Unmentionable in this case. It is my role to discover the truth. I have done so to the best of my ability. Now, I will show you what I have found."

And Hermione sat down, muttering something under her breath, and upon the wall to her right, memories began to pour forth. Dumbledore's memories were first, then Severus' then Alicia's. These were the most disturbing, and there was a distinct flicker of hatred in the eyes of the stupefied girl when they began to be shown. The wall darkened…

~*~

_A cloaked figure moved into the clearing, treading carefully so as to not stand on the white, writhing figures encircling the raised dais on which her master sat. Alicia reached the foot of the throne, a mockery of wood, roughly nailed together and- despite being sturdy- very ugly. She bent down, on one knee before the figure in the chair. A pale hand reached down and patted the girl derisively on the top of the head. Alicia raised her head to look at the man. _

~*~

Back in the room, there were three gasps of recognition.

~*~

_"Ah, Alicia, you have returned to me. Have you decided?" The man's white-blonde hair clung closely to his head, and Alicia looked up at him with yearning. _

_"Yes, master. I will bring to you the one you want. I have the potion almost ready, and he will be out of Hogwarts by the day after tomorrow at the latest." Alicia was almost panting; the man grasped the girl's chin and pulled her to her feet. _

_"You may pleasure me now." The man stated, and smiled wickedly as the girl opened her heavy robes to reveal her nakedness beneath…_

~*~

Hermione stopped the memory there, but it left little room for question. Alicia Bennet was in league with the residual Death Eaters. Harry Potter stood, open-mouthed, looking at the now-blank wall. 

Hermione pulled several objects out of her pockets, enlarging them and placing them where they could be recorded by the crystal. She stated what they were as she did this.

"Incriminating cauldron, unscrubbed. Second incriminating cauldron, also unscrubbed. Restricted potions: Telepathy Potion, Veritaserum, Kenisis Potion…" There were about ten potions, all heavily restricted, all from the possession of Alicia Bennet. Hermione turned to the girl, and motioned for Dumbledore to release his charm. As he did so, Hermione cast a Muggle Charm on her, and prised open the girl's mouth to place a few drops of her own Veritaserum on her tongue. The clear potion was absorbed instantly into her blood stream, and despite the girl's several attempts to cast a spell; Hermione's Muggle Charm stopped the magic before the girl could access it. 

"Why did you go to Malfoy and the Death Eaters?" Hermione stood where the crystal could record the girl's facial expressions. Alicia's face contorted, but she couldn't control her mouth.

"I am the best Potions Brewer in the world. Nothing here was a challenge. I wanted more. I found a man who not only offered me endless possibilities, but also offered me pleasure." She purred the last word, but Hermione snorted.

"A real Potions Master wouldn't leave her cauldrons unscrubbed. And I doubt that Draco Malfoy is really going to help you now- was the _pleasure_ worth it?" She snarled; animosity between the two palpable. 

Alicia's mouth twisted, but even she was unable to halt the progression of _veritaserum_. "I am a real Potions Master," she snarled. "I was just s…so _hungry_, and he was nearly gone, and I was almost with him again…" her whimpering tore the room, but the words to answer Hermione's question snuck out. "Yes, the pleasure was worth it." Alicia lowered her face, defiance etched in every line. Tears, in rebellion to her expression, snuck from her eyes, tracing trails down her face. 

"Please stop this?" She gazed up at the woman, but Hermione ignored the expression. 

"No. You have aided the Death Eaters, for no more than your own pleasure and the challenge of Dark Magic. You have admitted as such. Do you admit to administering potions to the Hogwarts Potions Master, for your master?" Hermione's face was within four inches of Alicia's. 

She shuddered, trying to hold the words back, knowing that this was leading to an admission large enough to send her to Azkaban. Her _veritaserum_ was top-notch, however, and the words flew from her mouth as if she had spat them. 

"I do." Harry's face turned to stare uncomprehendingly at the girl in the seat, only just having recovered from his amazement at seeing the girl with Draco Malfoy. He turned his whole body, disbelief in every angle. 

"'Mione, this is impossible- how can a pretty girl like this turn so evil?"

Hermione spun around to snipe at him, but Alicia answered first. 

"Because there is nothing worth obtaining in the world of the decent. I gained everything I wanted from Draco. He sent me scrolls of potions, and gave me his passion. It's not hard to become evil when evil itself is swelling in you soul… and your body." She smirked at this last, and Hermione's eyes unfocussed for a second. 

Gasping, she focussed again on the girl. 

"That's disgusting!"

Albus frowned a little at Hermione, and so she explained. "She's with child- of Draco, I suppose. But it's imbued with the soul of Voldemort, somehow. If she doesn't have a miscarriage, this child will give birth to a new age of horror for Wizards everywhere." All eyes in the room turned to the girl. She smirked again, apparently recovered from her bout of frustration at her tongue. 

Hermione closed her eyes, picked up one of Alicia's restricted potions- a telepathy potion. She unstoppered it, took a measured swallow, and replaced the seal. She then turned to stare at the blonde Ravenclaw's stomach.

Hermione's ears filled with static, but she could feel a presence somewhere in the static… she searched for the presence, and found herself mind-to-mind with Voldemort. 

_"You had better go, Voldemort. You will be the death of this girl, whether you live or not."_

The presence cackled, echoing in her head.

_"Do you think I care? If she doesn't bring me to life, someone else will. Malfoy is just as useful as his father was, but a little more dedicated. You will never find him, and I will return. This precious world you care for so much will be torn away from you."_ Hermione could feel the presence. If only…

Hermione took her hand and placed it on Alicia's stomach. She pressed down- hard.

_"Ah! What was that, you meddling girl?"_

Hermione pressed a little harder, and in her physical ears, heard Alicia whimper. 

_"Get out, get out bitch. Filthy Mudblood, get your hands away from me. I will be miscarried, long before I have the time to build up enough strength… Bitch! Ah!"_ Voldemort continued to fill her mind with silent screams, while Alicia echoed them in the physical reality. She felt someone pulling her hands away, so she pulled her mind away from Voldemort; turning her mind instead on whoever was pulling her hands away.

_"…Got to get her away… Hermione? Is that you? I have a potion that will do the same thing; don't get your hands dirty. His blood isn't worthy to be spilled on your hands…"_ Hermione pulled her mind away from Snape's mind, aiming this peripheral hearing at the roof. She sat back; suddenly back in the real world. She turned and faced the crystal. 

"It's Voldemort, alright. Professor Snape believes that he has a potion to help Miss Bennet reverse this unfortunate situation." Hermione turned to Snape, and motioned for him to leave. 

Alicia was glowering in fury, but unable to move away from where she was held. 

Harry Potter was still staring at the pretty blonde girl. "But, but she's not a Slytherin! Why would she ever go near Malfoy?"

Hermione stared at the man who stood as Auror. "Harry, have your prejudices gotten such a hold of you that you become shallow and unable to discern the truth?"

Harry looked at Bennett's face, looked up to Hermione and sighed. "I don't know. I miss my family. I haven't seen Ginny for three months, I haven't slept for four days, and I haven't seen Ron since two nights ago. We're all run off our feet- and I don't know why. There have been so many occurrences that the Ministry's considering hiring twenty new Aurors. We can't tell who's part of the Death Eater cult or who's not. I'm sorry, 'Mione." He looked so sheepish that she had to smile. 

"It's all right, Harry. I'm under a large amount of strain myself- I just quit my job, which was driving me quite literally insane. When we work this all out, I'm going to work here, as the new Defence teacher. Then I'll be freed- a little- from this dark miasma that has taken a hold of my soul. I'll be alright in the end." Her wistful, watery smile was still in place when the charm hit her.

"Slut. I'll kill you all," Hermione's Muggle Charm seemed to have worn off, and the boils that were now creeping up her leg were evidence that her reflexes were not as sharp when she was relaxed as when she was tense. Alicia was still stuck in the chair, bound to the chair until the trial finished. Snarling at the girl, whose face was now contorted with rage, Hermione levelled a particularly nasty hex at the girl. The words began to spill from her mouth, and it was only with severe effort that Harry managed to break her concentration enough for her to break the spell. A small splutter of sparks fizzled out of her wand, but the spell didn't work.

"You have attacked an officer of the law, with no provocation. This in itself is a criminal offence, and is punishable with a sentence in Azkaban. Let this be testimony in itself of the desperation in this girl's soul." This last she spoke to the crystal sitting in the middle of the room. She then reached over and removed the girl's wand, snapping it before her face. 

Snape then shoved his way back into the room, shouldering his way through the door. 

"Here's a pretty little potion for you to drink," he snarled, pushing her mouth open and tilting the bottle. Hermione, grim-faced, walked over and pinched the girl's nose. The grey, murky potion spilled a little, but most was impulsively swallowed, allowing the girl no choice but to quell the growth in her womb. 

The trial recommenced, although the outcome was assured. Soon enough, the witness was ending the session.

"I, Albus Dumbledore, do hereby witness this inquiry."

"And I, Hermione Granger, have been the unmentionable and prosecution. I have suffered under the burden of proof, and have lived up to the standard of proof. This case is yours. My decision is not binding, but the arm of this Auror is. Miss Alicia Bennet will be held in custody awaiting her answering and sentencing. 

"That's all from me, Mari. Do what you want, but I'm not being bothered by all this again. Albus has offered me the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and I've decided to take it. I apologise at the lack of notice, but I'll go insane if I go on doing this.

"_Ratio Decidendi_,"

The crystal darkened, smoky, until it was dark grey and opaque. Hermione grasped the stone, wrapped it in its black cloth, replaced it in its bag and charmed it. She then handed it over to Albus, sighing wearily as she did so.

"I'm finished here. I think I'll take a little while to clear my head." With her eyes on the floor, she shuffled out of the room.

Albus looked up to Harry, motioning for him to take the girl. She was hissing in rage, and beginning to clutch her stomach.

"Make sure she's looked after, Harry." He admonished, not meaning for her to be pleasantly looked after. "I don't want any slimy creation pertaining to be Voldemort in existence."

"Right you are, Dumbledore," Harry chirped, leading the girl- now doubled up in pain- out the door. He took the pouch from Albus on the way out, and, once they were off the property, apparated with the girl to Ministry headquarters. 

~*~

"Harry! You look like your charge is going to die- what did you feed her?" someone quipped on the way into the office, but Harry just smiled pleasantly as he led the girl to the hospital area of the Ministry. The woman there frowned and bustled and arranged, but it was not long before the reaction took place. Harry couldn't stand to see it, and left the room long before she aborted. He shuddered at the thought of it. If it had been for any other reason than the imminent return of Voldemort, he would have discouraged this option against all odds. The horror of Voldemort, however, still hung over his head- he still had the nightmares of his final struggle with the Dark Lord now, eleven years after the fact. 

After what felt like a long time- and probably was- Harry was invited back into the room. The Medi-witch had a stern word to him on the way in, however.

"I don't care to see unborn children forced out of the womb before their time. This sort of thing disgusts me- I would like to know the reasoning for it."

Harry wiped his hand across his weary brow, and explained what had happened of late. The woman frowned, but nodded her head. "I agree that it was the best course of action- and the potion was well made also- but I never want to see you resort to this again. Do you hear me?" the woman shook Harry's shoulders, and he pushed down a chuckle as he nodded contritely. "Right. You can take her away then. I never want to see her again," the woman's face contorted into disgust as she bustled away.

Harry entered the room and, grabbing the girl's arm, dragged her from the room. He closed the door firmly behind himself. The blonde girl whimpered, but did little else. Harry guessed that even miscarriage exhausted a person. And things hadn't been going well for Miss Bennett today, either. As he passed the Adjudicator's office, he handed in the crystal, and put in Alicia Bennett's cell number. 

Once the girl was firmly locked away, Harry Potter went back to the Auror floor, checked to see if there were any other assignments to deal with- surprisingly, there weren't- and he decided to go home. Four months was a long time to be 'at work', even when he was sleeping, and he got the feeling he'd be making things up to Ginny for quite a while. If she was still there when he got home, that was.

~*~

Hermione slumped into the chair in Dumbledore's office that evening before dinner, awaiting his decision.

"You will be a permanent member of staff here, Hermione." Dumbledore smiled at her- a weary smile, but a smile nevertheless. "I hope you'll be more permanent than my last Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher- who lasted about seven weeks. They're just so hard to find," his face was a combination of wry humour and genuine consternation.

"Thankyou, Dumbledore," Hermione professed sincerely, leaning over to take his hands in her own. "I hope you'll not regret this. It will be a good change from law enforcement," she smiled. 

"Is your guest room good enough for your personal use?" Dumbledore enquired. Hermione nodded.

"Though a workplace would be appreciated," she added, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck. Dumbledore just laughed quietly, however.

"Of course, dear. It will be there by the time you arrive. But in the meantime, shall we progress to dinner?" he stood to take her arm, and escorted her to dinner.

~*~

Severus Snape slouched in his chair at dinner, not caring about his posture over his recently saved hide. Dinner was full of conversation, mainly revolving around Hermione, and her recent appointment to Professorship. Severus didn't care- the conversation didn't revolve around him, and he was barely consulted. The distraction-free dinner was the culmination of a wonderful day. _Well, _he thought, _perhaps not wonderful, but better than most._ _And I still have a job_. He was startled to see Hermione Granger's eyes reach down the table to meet his own, and the small smile she gave him. 

_Maybe life gets better than this, after all._


	4. Epilogue

A/N: A little epilogue, tying up loose ends. 

Thanks to all my reviewers!

Mandi: yup- here it is! 

Jamesismysweetheart: yea. Moves far too quickly. But I really can't be bothered re-writing it. I was about three quarters of the way through the last chapter before I realised that I had written it in a very, very short span of time. 

Annabelle Elizabeth: thanks, glad you've enjoyed it.

Oh: if you're interested- I've got a few other things up on here. Feel free to read them, too.

Of Potions and Professors

**Epilogue**

The owl reached him in the clearing in mid-afternoon. He was resting on his chair, hair free to float around his head. He snarled at the thing and tore the letter off its leg. He dismissed it with a flick of his hand, his eyes glued to the letter. 

It was from Alicia- he was surprised. He read the words on the page before crumpling the parchment and throwing it at one of the writhing couples on the ground. For a change, the figures made him ill, rather than feel powerful. With a mighty yawn, he began to collect his things to Apparate away. 

Unfortunately for him, he was a little too late. The owl had taken a gambolling, roundabout route (it didn't like being thrown), and arrived in the clearing quite late in the day. In fact, the sun was nearing the horizon. As he stood to sweep his cloak around himself and disappear once again, there were several loud popping noises in the clearing. This startled him, giving him pause. Spinning around to face his tormentors, he came face to face with Harry Potter.

"Sorry, Draco old boy; seems you've been playing a naughty game. We're going to have to take you away." Though he nearly fell backwards getting out of Harry Potter's grip, a spell hit him in the back, causing him to fall. Darkness surrounded him; the last things he saw were Harry Potter's bright green eyes peering at him. 

Ron turned to his best friend, motioning with his wand and hovering the body. "Glad we didn't turn out like this, hey mate?"

"Definitely," Harry answered. "Now; you taking him in, or am I?"

"Oh, I will. You go home to Ginny. She'll be frantic that I stole you again. She'll have my head. Go on," Ron waved a hand at Harry, and Harry smiled widely. 

"Thanks mate. I'll do just that."

And so, that was what they did. Draco Malfoy was taken to a cell opposite Alicia- much to the consternation of both; Harry Potter snuck home, and to his surprise, Ginny had barely noticed he was gone: "Gone? No, I didn't notice… Oh, that sounds just awful. Well, I'm glad you're back; are you hurt? Can I kiss you better?" And Ronald Weasley was recorded as capturing the much-wanted leader of the Death Eater Cult. He got his photograph in the paper, his words in the article, and the fame he had thought he had stopped wanting long ago. Then, he too went home to his wife. Happily ever after is a long claim to make; but for the time being, normality ensued.

They couldn't ask for anything more.


End file.
